With This Ring (and This Apple)
by Historyexplorer12
Summary: Hephaestion and Alexander remember back to the time when Alexander gave Hephaestion his ring. Disclaimer: Xander and Phai are not mine! They belong to history and Oliver Stone! Warnings: Established relationship, slash, flashback (in italics), rated T for safety


**AN: So I was watching "Alexander" the movie on the 11th to celebrate Alexander's death, like I try to do every year since I found out the movie existed, and it's amazing the small details I've missed over the years. On the 11th, even though I didn't finish the movie, I noticed that in the scene where Hephaestion goes to Alexander while Alexander is reading Olympias' letter, Hephaestion has a ring on his finger consisting of a blue stone and a silver setting. I got really excited, because everyone knows about Alexander's ring, but not Hephaestion's. Or at least no one's pointed it out. Anyway, I've been speculating how Phai got that ring ever since that day. This fic is just speculating how that might have happened. I hope you enjoy it and will see Phai's ring from now on if you hadn't noticed it until now.**

 **AN: Italics means that that part of the story is a flashback. Plain text is the present as it is presented in the movie.**

As he watched Hephaestion enter his rooms while he was reading his mother's letter, Alexander smiled. Hephaestion moved languidly toward him, settling for standing behind the divan on which Alexander was resting. He silently reached a hand down to him, which Alexander kissed before turning back to the letter in his hand. Pulling away from Hephaestion, even though the loss of contact with his lover made his heart thump harder in his chest so that his chest ached minutely, Alexander shifted around on the couch until he was laying in the opposite direction on his back with his legs slightly spread. Settled now, Alexander silently invited his lover of many years to lay with him. A pleased half-smile turning up the corner of his mouth, Hephaestion accepted his lover's invitation, coming around the couch to settle on his belly between Alexander's thighs, laying his dark head on the king's chest as Alexander gently ran his fingers through the hair that he cherished so much.

Soothed by the touch and the heartbeat of the man underneath him, Hephaestion sighed relaxedly before turning his head to face the hand that held the now forgotten letter.

"What is-?" he started to ask, going to lift his head in order to see the letter better.

"Shh…" Alexander soothed, discarding the letter on the floor, "It is not important. Just my mother being upset that I haven't allowed her to come to Babylon. Do not worry yourself," as he said this, he stroked Hephaestion's hand that lay splayed out on his chest. He noticed that Hephaestion was wearing his ring, and decided to say something about it.

"Do you remember when I gave you this ring?" he admired the dark blue stone and then turned his head to gaze into eyes of that same color, into the eyes that he loved so much.

"I do. You were fourteen; I was fifteen," Hephaestion grinned before Alexander leaned up and captured his lips in a slow, love-filled kiss, cutting off Hephaestion's speech in the most delicious and delicate of ways, both of them remembering back to that warm day in Mieza.

 _"Please, Phai? I don't want to go back inside. I want to sit under the willow with you."_

 _"Xander-" Hephaestion glanced toward the little hut that was their classroom, where their friends were filing in, laughing and talking loudly. He turned back to his friend and prince, who was looking at him with huge, hopeful eyes, "Okay."_

 _Alexander's face lit up, and to Hephaestion it seemed like the Sun, like Helios himself, had used the young prince as a vessel to come down to Earth, "Okay? That means yes, right?"_

 _Hephaestion laughed at his friend's excitement, nodding, "Yes. Yes, Xander. Let us go sit under the willow."_

 _Alexander grinned before grabbing Hephaestion's hand and running toward the only willow that stood tall by the stream that ran near to where Aristotle taught them as well as their friends. The hanging leaves hid them well from view and Hephaestion pulled away from Alexander in order to sit against the tree's trunk with a contented sigh._

 _"I bought something for you," Hephaestion opened his eyes to see Alexander holding out a apple of both red and green color._

 _"The midday meal is not for several hours yet, Alexander. We broke our fast barely an hour ago."_

 _"I know. It is not to eat, unless you want to eat it. I'm giving it to you."_

 _Hephaestion was confused for a moment before it dawned on him, "Xander…" he was hesitant._

 _"Shh. Just listen, and then I will give you time to decide. I love you, Hephaestion Amyntoros. I have loved you since we met four years ago. And I will love you forever, regardless of whether or not you accept my love. Being with you has made me stronger as a person, has made me want to be a better man, even though I am not one yet. I see the future in everything you do. It would be my honor if you accepted my heart as yours to have and keep dear every moment until the end of our lives. I have a ring for you," and he quickly and nervously handed his friend a ring of dark sapphire in a silver setting, "To show everyone that you are mine, and I am yours."_

 _It was quiet a moment after Alexander confessed his feelings while Hephaestion slipped the ring onto his finger, inspecting it, and then Hephaestion looked up at his friend and prince and gave him a little half smile and said, "Ilíthios, did you think I would say 'No?'"_

 _Relieved, Alexander sank to his knees in front of the boy he had loved for four years- the boy who had just agreed to be his lover- and whispered, "May I kiss you, my Phai?"_

 _"You never have to ask, my Alexander," and kissed him, slowly and deeply._

"You know I still love you, don't you? Despite everything, I swear I still do," breaking their present kiss, one of the uncountable kisses since that late morning in Mieza, under the willow tree, Alexander looked into Hephaestion's eyes as he said this.

"Of course I do. my Alexander."

With all of that said, and both men reassured, they continued to kiss, never to be separated, as their rings made clear to all mortal men and the gods above.

 **AN: In case you weren't aware, throwing apples at a woman in Ancient Greece was a marriage proposal. I used that same principle here, but changed it just a bit to fit two of my favorite men. Also, as I was doing some quick research on apples, I found out that Alexander the Great is credited with finding dwarfed apples in Kazakhstan in 328 B.C. How cool is that? I hope you all enjoyed the story!**

 **Translations: (Greek)**

 **Ilíthios = Idiot**


End file.
